North Shore Golf Spring 2022

20 >>> SPRING 2022
North Shore
Golf
NOTEBOOK
By
BILL BROTHERTON
and ANNE MARIE TOBIN
services ($50,000). Select Board Chair
Richard Dalton said the money
will be funded from the Golf Course
Enterprise Fund.
The Golf Club at Turner Hill in
Ipswich has been sold for $11.6 million,
according to the Essex County Registry of
Deeds. The sale, which closed in February,
includes the championship 18-hole
private golf course and grand Elizabethan
mansion. The buyer, GCTH Ipswich LLC,
is listed as Dave Blundin and David
Masse, managers of the corporation. The
seller, The Golf Club at Turner Hill LLC,
paid $10.4 million for the property in
2007. The mansion was built in 1903 for
industrialist Charles Rice and his wife
Anne. In 1940, the property was sold to
the Missionaries of Our Lady of LaSalette.
The property was sold in 1997 for the
creation of the golf course and homes. In
2015, construction began on 120 homes
on the 300-acre site.
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After one year as managing partner at
Rowley CC, Toby Ahern is moving to
Bear Hill GC in Stoneham as head PGA
professional. “Rowley Country Club had
The Golf Club at Turner Hill in Ipswich has been sold.
a great year in 2021, the course was in
great shape and membership doubled,”
said Ahern. “I was excited for this season.”
Then, he said he was approached by
two members one day who said Bear
Hill’s pro (Jeff Wirbal) left to focus on
Have you tried Wenham Country Club?
A family owned, 18-hole golf
course since 1899.
• Challenge yourself on our fast,
undulating greens. Always in
good condition.
• Our 8 par 3’s are exciting for
players of all abilities.
• Easy to walk and play in under 4
hours.
• 10 Packs! Buy a 10 pack gift card
for greens fees or carts and get
an 11th free!
• Kids 15 and under always play
free with an adult.
• Book tee times online and learn
more at wenham.golf
Wenham Country Club 94 Main St., Wenham, MA 01984
978-468-4714 • wenham.golf
teaching more and the club was searching
for an experienced pro and asked if he
might be interested. “I met with Tom
MacKay, (Bear Hill) club president, and
was very impressed. I got a good vibe
too from Kevin Richardson, course
superintendent, and head chef Paul
Appleby and members of the board.
Bear Hill is a club on the rise. There’s a
membership waiting list and significant
capital improvements have been made
in recent years. The staff is positive.
I look forward to helping to upgrade
the golf operation.” Ahern was a key
member of the golf staff at Ferncroft CC
for more than 25 years. … Meanwhile at
Rowley CC, longtime PGA pro Darin
Chin-Aleong returns as Director of
Golf and Bill Godek is back as course
superintendent.
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PHOTO: SPENSER HASAK
Don't be surprised to see improved
conditions at Lynnfield's Reedy
Meadow and King Rail Reserve
golf courses this summer. The town has
appropriated $263,636 in its fiscal year
2023 capital budget to purchase new
course maintenance equipment and King
Rail Reserve clubhouse design services.
The items to be purchased include a
Groundmaster 4700 rough cut mower
($94,864), two Reelmaster 505-H fairway
mowers ($74,042), three Workman HDX
four-wheel drive vehicles ($35,337), four
debris blowers ($9,393) and the design
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DiLisio Golf Range in Swampscott
is celebrating its 50th anniversary this
year. … Cape Ann GC will host the
Massachusetts Junior Qualifier (kids
up to 18) event in June. … Ongoing
improvements are continuing this
spring at Sagamore Spring GC in
Lynnfield. The club's five-year course
improvement plan began in 2021 and
includes adding new sod to bare areas,
bunker edging, and tree removal to
allow for better light and air. General
Manager Tim Doucette said new
permanent cart paths have been
added on the 5th hole and on the 2nd
hole leading to the 3rd. The club has
removed approximately 17 complete
trees, six limbed trees and some areas
of smaller brush encroaching some tee
boxes on the 2nd and 3rd holes. The
3rd and 5th tees have been renovated.
"Each year of this plan we will be
adding new permanent paths or making
extensive repairs," Doucette said. "We
expect ongoing tree removal to open
up neglected areas and tee boxes where
growth has resulted in limited access to
light and air to certain greens and tees.
Our plan is to bring back the old design,
improve players' shotmaking ability and
also help with pace of play.” Sagamore
first opened as a 9-hole course in 1929.
The full 18 hole course opened in 1932.
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The new clubhouse at Meadow
Brook GC is on target to be ready
by opening day, said head PGA
professional Steve Sheridan. You
may recall that the Reading country
club lost its 72-year-old clubhouse to
fire on April 17, 2020, then nearly a
year to the day (April 13, 2021) just
as it was ready to celebrate a grand
re-opening, it burned to the ground
again. … Sheridan, who is starting his
20th season at Meadow Brook, was
recently nominated for the NEPGA
Teacher of the Year award. … Damon
Lusk is looking to win his third
consecutive Meadow Brook men’s club
championship while Charlie Johnson
is looking to win his sixth consecutive
senior championship. … Meadow Brook
takes part in the Mass Golf Women’s
160 SO. MAIN ST., Rte. 114 • MIDDLETON • Next to Richardson's Dairy
978-774-4476 • Golfcountry.org
• Fully-lighted 50 tee golf driving range
• Natural grass practice area
• Covered and heated tees for
year-round practicing
• 2 beautifully landscaped miniature golf courses
• 9 station baseball and softball batting cage facility
• Golf lessons by PGA professionals
FAR CORNER GOLF
FarCornerGolf.com • 978-352-8300
A member of Bill Flynn’s Golf Course Management and Development Inc.